Since 2006, inbound marketing has been considered one of the most effective methods of doing business online. The inbound methodology focuses on creating quality content that drives traffic and offers the right information to the right person, depending on where they are in the buying process.
Personas
Defining personas is crucial to successful inbound strategies. A persona is a fictional representation of your ideal customer and is used to easily categorize potential customers and tailor marketing and sales materials based on that specific person's personality, needs and wants.
Inbound Marketing
Inbound marketing is based on content that aims to attract specific personas by focusing on their needs and motivations. While inbound marketing targets a broad audience within the defined personas, Account-Based Marketing (ABM) shifts the focus to specific organizations.
The inbound methodology has a broader scope, while ABM focuses on a fewer number of high-value opportunities with tailored efforts.
The collective group
ABM recognizes the collective decision-making process in B2B purchasing. Most purchasing decisions are not made by a single person but by a group of stakeholders within an organization.
Focusing solely on individual personas can therefore provide an incomplete picture, whereas ABM takes into account the entire buying group to better understand the potential value of an account. Research shows that ABM can increase the number of deals closed and often deliver high return on investment for B2B marketing strategies when implemented effectively.
Sales teams
ABM is a natural extension of activities that many sales teams have been conducting for decades. Salespeople often focus on specific organizations, building relationships with decision makers, providing personalized information, and nurturing leads until they are ready to make a buying decision.
ABM allows marketing teams to work closely with sales teams to focus on high-potential accounts and achieve better results.
The choice between inbound marketing and ABM
Choosing between inbound marketing and ABM depends on your organization's goals and target audience. If you want to reach a broad audience, inbound might be the way to go, while ABM is better suited if the focus is on maximizing returns from specific key accounts.
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